Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7md
Earthquake near Louisa, VA
No earthquake was likely felt in Louisa in the 24 hours to 7:30 am EST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 50 km (31 mi) SE, at 5:28 pm EST on 14 January 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,580 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Louisa
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) south of Louisa, VA, at 5:04 am EST on 3 February 2020 (10:04 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 345 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- When
- 5:04 am EST on 3 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) south of Louisa, VA · earthquakes near Louisa
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (md)
- Depth
- 7.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 345 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Louisa County, 7 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Central Virginia seismic zone, 9 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 380 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Louisa, VA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Louisa, VA. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 54 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Louisa, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Gordonsville, Lake Monticello.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 290 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 51,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 36,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 290 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 11 km SSW of Mineral, Virginia · 7 km ESE of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 37.9287, -78.0158. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisa County, VA | 7 km (4 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Louisa County |
| Goochland County, VA | 25 km (15 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Goochland County |
| Fluvanna County, VA | 26 km (16 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Fluvanna County |
| Orange County, VA | 36 km (22 mi) | N | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Spotsylvania County, VA | 42 km (26 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Spotsylvania County |
| Charlottesville city, VA | 43 km (27 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Charlottesville city |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
15 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 3 km SW of Wyndham, Virginia
- 2.3 1 km NE of Wyndham, Virginia
- 2.8 1 km NNE of Wyndham, Virginia
- 1.8 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 18 km ENE of Cumberland, Virginia
- 2.2 Virginia
- 1.6 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 15 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 16 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.3 2 km WSW of Columbia, Virginia
- 1.8 9 km S of Louisa, Virginia
- 2.4 13 km NW of Ashland, Virginia
- 2.2 8 km ENE of Cumberland, Virginia
- 2.2 6 km WNW of Ashland, Virginia
- 2.0 13 km SW of Goochland, Virginia
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.